Your Road Bike Handlebar Guide

Hidden beneath all that colorful tape, the handlebar is easy to take for granted. But thanks to evolving shapes and sizes, it plays an increasingly critical role in your ride quality. It's time to take a fresh look at this unsung component.

2005
Compact frame geometry results in a trend toward shallow (compact) drop bends like the one used on FSA's Omega.

Imagine you buy a new road bike and start heading out for rides. After that fresh-handlebar-tape smell wears off, you start to notice that your shoulders hurt on a long ride, or your hands go numb, or you can't reach the brake levers from the drops quite like you want to. The bike itself might be fine—it could be that the handlebar is not quite cutting it.

As few as 20 years ago, the bar played a mostly utilitarian role: It provided a place to attach brake levers and gave you something to hold on to. But recent changes in bike design and innovations in manufacturing have led to an array of new handlebar shapes and sizes. The formerly overlooked component now plays an integral part in how we get along with our bikes, affecting everything from fit to comfort to handling.

The correct handlebar will put your hands in a position to support your upper body without putting strain on your neck and shoulders, and help balance your weight between the front and back wheels for proper handling. New shapes, like compact bends, offer improved ergonomics and control.

"There are so many more options, and people have realized they don't have to be uncomfortable," says Charlayne Barger, a bike fitter at the boutique shop Faster, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What's driving this new bloom of options? Many trend watchers point to the advent of compact-frame geometry in the 1990s. Those frames, still popular today, have sloping top tubes that accommodate a greater range of rider heights, allowing manufacturers to produce fewer sizes. Before those developments, most frames were designed with a rider's ideal stem and saddle position in mind. Cyclists typically could find a good fit with only minimal changes to their stem length and saddle height. Compact frames flipped that formula 180 degrees. "Now, frames dictate what to do with the stem and seatpost," says longtime frame builder Tom Ritchey.

To adapt, riders have to rely on more pronounced changes to their saddle location and especially their hand position.

As cyclists began clamoring for additional ways to fine-tune their setup, new materials and manufacturing techniques gave component makers more control over bar shape. Removable-faceplate stems opened up more bend options, since the bar no longer had to fit through a stem clamp. The result is a smorgasbord of choices: complex shapes, more combinations of reach and drop, better ergonomics, and larger clamp diameters that promise more stiffness. With so many options, the handlebar has become an important tool to help cyclists find an ideal riding position.

Bar shapes and sizes continue to evolve. Selecting the right one requires some trial and error, but it's easier than you might think. Assuming your bike is the right size, your bar should let you comfortably reach the brake hoods with a slight bend at the elbow. When your hands are on the hoods or wrapped around the hook portion of the drops, your wrists should be at a comfortable angle. And you should be able to easily reach the brake levers from the hoods or drops.

Changing your bar won't make up for a frame that doesn't fit. But it can make your bike feel better, increasing comfort and improving control. The handlebar is one of just three points at which your body contacts your bike, so even small changes can have an outsized effect—transforming a good bike into a great one.

NO. 1
Prioritize reach. You spend most of your time with your hands on the hoods, so that dimension is the most important to get right. Start with a short-reach bar, then adjust out if needed.

NO. 2
To find the right width, grab the handlebar hooks and have a friend or shop employee eyeball you from the front. Your arms should extend straight forward.

NO. 3
No matter the shape, you should be able to easily curl the tips of your index and middle fingers around the brake levers.

NO. 4
Unless you require a superlight bar or a unique shape, consider an aluminum model. Carbon options offer better vibration damping, but can cost three times more.

NO. 5
If you race crits or are a bigger rider, consider a bar with an oversize 35mm clamping diameter. But stiffer bars can lead to a harsher ride.

Terms of Endearment
Key dimensions to help you select the ideal bar

A) Reach
Horizontal distance from the center of the handlebar top to the center of the furthest extension of the bend, where brake hoods are mounted. A reach of less than 80mm is short; 80 to 85mm is medium; 85mm or more is considered long.

B) Width
Most companies measure a bar's width from the center of each drop. Common sizes are 38, 40, 42, and 44cm.

C) Drop
The vertical distance from the center of the bar top to the center of the deepest part of the bend. A drop of 125mm or less is considered shallow; 125 to 128mm is medium; more than that is deep.

D) Drops
Straight portion of the bar that extends back toward the rider.

E) Bend
The curved section of the bar.

F) Hooks
Section of the drop just below the brake-lever clamp that is used during descending and cornering.

G) Ramp
The segment that transitions from the top to the hooks. It is sometimes measured by the steepness of the angle to the point where brake hoods are installed.

Merckx
Also known as the classic or round bend, this option has an even radius and is often found on bars with deep drops.

Ergonomic
This popular shape is similar to the Merckx bend but has a more sharply curved hook.

You Can Handle It
Small changes to your bar's dimensions can improve fit and performance

Reach
A longer reach can increase your leverage on the handlebar for more responsive handling (too much can make steering feel erratic). While total reach includes your stem length, increasing just the bar reach changes the distance to the drops and hoods without changing the position of the bar top.

Width
Your hand placement can alter how quickly your bike responds to steering input. A narrow stance reduces your leverage and can lead to shaky steering. A wider grip improves stability, but too much separation can focus stress on your shoulders and neck.

Shape
The bend of your hooks affects your grip on the bar and your body position. A pronounced bend will put you in an aero stance but a drop that is too deep can make it hard to keep your head up to see down the road.

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